GIACCO, BERNARDO MARIA. - Capuchin, b. at Napoli on 28 Sept. 1672 and d. on 5 June 1744. A celebrated preacher, he combined richness of imagery with popular simplicity of form. He made his debut by preaching Advent in the small town of Piedimonte; but because of his frail constitution he withdrew to the convent at Cava and to Arienzo, devoted to writing his finest sermons. He often left his retreat to go to Napoli to deliver his panegyrics.
Of broad and varied culture, he formed his taste on the Latin classics and the great Tuscan writers. He was a friend of Vico, who sent him his first Scienza nuova (1725) with a well-known letter. He regarded the panegyric as «a kind of poem in unrhymed discourse», so much so that he was called the Monti of the pulpit. His Orazioni sacre (3 vols., Napoli 1746-47) were reprinted several times (11th ed., ibid. 1850), and many were included in collections of sacred orators.